Mercedes-AMG tops 2024 Manufacturer standing

SROSPA24

Jul 3

Mercedes-AMG PRO teams didn’t succeed at the centenary CrowdStrike 24 Hours of Spa but the German manufacturer got 6 podium spots out of the 12 available in non PRO class with P1 and P3 in Gold, Bronze and Pro-Am. Those 6 podiums (2.200 points) enable Mercedes-AMG to steal the leadership from Porsche (1776 Points) in the 2024 MANUFACTURER STANDINGS with 9.389 points for Mercedes-AMG and 9.212 points for Porsche.

📷 © Luc Warnotte at Spa-Francorchamps 24 Hours.

A couple of non Pro cars managed to end the centenary CrowdStrike 24 Hours of Spa within the top 10 overall also winning their own class: Gold Cup winners #777 AlManar Racing by GetSpeed crew of Al Faisal Al Zubair, Mikaël Grenier, Dominik Baumann and Philip Ellis ended seventh overall and Bronze Cup winner #66 Tresor Attempto Racing Audi with crew of Andrey Mukovoz, Dylan Pereira, Max Hofer and Aleksey Nesov took 10th overall.

Gold Cup Podium

📷 © Courtesy of Fanatec GT World Challenge Europe Powered by AWS.

Gold Cup honours went to the #777 AlManar Racing by GetSpeed crew of Al Faisal Al Zubair, Mikaël Grenier, Dominik Baumann and Philip Ellis. Fast throughout the event, they delivered a clean performance which was rewarded with seventh overall.

#777 AlManar Racing by GetSpeed Mercedes-AMG GT3 — 📷 © Luc Warnotte at Spa-Francorchamps 24 Hours.

Al Faisal Al Zubair, #777 AlManar Racing Mercedes-AMG: “It was a great race today. The weather definitely made it unpredictable and difficult to decide what was right, but at the end of it I think it made it even better for us. I am very happy with the job all my teammates did and I’m delighted to bring this win home.” Source: Fanatec GT World Challenge Europe Powered by AWS

📷 © Luc Warnotte at Spa-Francorchamps 24 Hours.

The podium also featured the #25 Saintéloc Racing Audi and the #77 HRT Mercedes-AMG.

Bronze cup podium

The Bronze Cup winner also finished among the overall top 10. This class went to the #66 Tresor Attempto Racing Audi, which took victory by a comfortable margin. After emerging from the night with a clear advantage thanks to its crew of Andrey Mukovoz, Dylan Pereira, Max Hofer and Aleksey Nesov, the Audi remained competitive all the way to the finish, taking 10th overall.

Andrey Mukovoz, #66 Tresor Attempto Racing Audi: “I am so proud of this result. This is only my second CrowdStrike 24 Hours of Spa and the way the team and the car worked together was so important, especially when the Bronze grid is so competitive this year, with so many cars. We made it!” Source: Fanatec GT World Challenge Europe Powered by AWS

📷 © Luc Warnotte at Spa-Francorchamps 24 Hours.

This year's Bronze Cup runner-up was the #52 AF Corse Ferrari, followed by the #72 Barwell Motorsport Lamborghini.

Silver Cup Podium.

GetSpeed earned a second winner’s trophy by taking the Silver Cup class with its #3 Mercedes-AMG, which delivered a similar performance to the sister AlManar Racing car. Driven by Yannick Mettler, James Kell, Anthony Bartone and Aaron Walker, it rose to the top of its classification during the morning and ran cleanly thereafter. There was late pressure from the #10 Boutsen VDS Mercedes-AMG, but when this car retired the #3 crew could begin to relax.

Yannick Mettler, #3 GetSpeed Mercedes-AMG: “There was a lot of up and down to this race and it was very chaotic, but we had really good pace in the wet and took our opportunities to get into the mix. Somehow, we stayed there and kept things consistent. Ultimately, I don’t think we were the quickest car over a lap, but we had the consistency and managed the conditions and that’s what put us out front. Nobody had a perfect race, but we kept our mistakes small and made no big ones. I’m really happy.” Source: Fanatec GT World Challenge Europe Powered by AWS

They were followed home by the #55 Dinamic GT Porsche and the #57 Windward Racing Mercedes-AMG.

Pro-Am Cup Podium

On a day when its Pro cars faced disappointment, Mercedes-AMG could celebrate a hat-trick of class victories at the centenary. The third came courtesy of the #4 CrowdStrike by Riley entry, driven by George Kurtz, Ian James, Nicky Catsburg and Colin Braun, which ran an intelligent race to capture Pro-Am honours.

George Kurtz, #4 CrowdStrike by Riley Mercedes-AMG: “This result is so special. When you’re the title sponsor and you manage to win the centenary race, that’s just so special. As always, thanks have to go out to the entire team. The drivers, they had my back and did a fantastic job; Riley did a great job giving us a fantastic car and we managed to stay out of trouble. It was a bit of a war of attrition and the name of the game for us was to get through it and survive to see where we would wind up. I couldn’t be prouder of this team.” Source: Fanatec GT World Challenge Europe Powered by AWS

They were locked in battle with Team RJN until the #100 McLaren suffered power issues during the early afternoon, ultimately slipping well behind the CrowdStrike by Riley crew and the #16 Uno Racing by Landgraf Mercedes-AMG. The Chinese team took runner-up, capping a fine comeback drive after being caught up in an early incident, with RJN in third.